Did He Forget?
by Kurayami-9
Summary: Chou thinks that Shishido forgot her birthday. Is it true? Or is he going to give her the present she had always wanted? Known as 'Love? Crossedressing, Fem!Ootori, Silver Pair. (Note: When alone, with family, Shishido or Hiyoshi, Ootori is referred to as a girl) B-day fic for mcangel1976. Happy belated b-day, Ootori!


**Diclaimer:** I'm not doing this. You know clearly well who Konomi Takeshi is.

**Summary:** Chou thinks that Shishido forgot her birthday. Is it true? Or is he going to give her the present she had always dreamt of?

**Notes:** Happy birthday, mcangel1976! I really hope you like it. And a happy belated birthday to you, Ootori-kun! Or should I greet Namikawa-san since he's the seiyuu? Anyway..

mcangel's birthday is today, but by the timing, I think it's already yeterday.. maa, I did it anyway!

Minna, please, review!

**Warning:** OOC, genderbender.

* * *

Ootori sat under a big sakura tree with her knees drawn up to her chest. Before she could even control it, though, a sigh had escaped her rosy lips. She casted a long look at the bento box beside her trying to make herself want to eat by thinking _it_ _was_ _her_ _favorite_. No hope whatsoever..

A sad expression conveyed all what was there to tell. Her day was kind of bad. Like, not really bad, but just dull by her measures.

How could she not be sad when-

"Chou?" her thoughts were cut off by her best friend's voice.

"Ah, Wakashi." She acknowledged the other boy and moved a little to make space for him to sit next to her.

The quiet boy sat down with his own lunch on his lap and glanced sideways at his best friend, "Are you okay?"

Ootori blinked and looked at him with a questioning look.

"You look the way you looked when you had troubles breathing." He looked around briefly, checking that no one was around to hear them, before leaning close to her "You didn't bind your chest too tightly again, didn't you?" he was ready to scold her if she did.

The silverette blinked again before breaking into a small smile. Hiyoshi was really caring for her. "No, I'm fine. And my bindings are not too tight. Thank you for your concern." It was completely normal for them both to talk about this. Hiyoshi alone was allowed to talk to her about such embarrassing things.

You see, Ootori Chou had become Ootori Choutarou years ago since the bullying started. She wasn't a girl with the normal build you'd find, thus the whole lot of teasing begun, and soon it was transformed into hatred and hurtful comments towards the poor little girl. Those increased by time and reached a degree to where she couldn't take anymore.

When she was nine years old, her family moved to a new place, and since then, 'Choutarou' was brought up. It was hard to convince her family, but in the end, they accepted, though, only until she stops growing. She had accepted that condition.

Hiyoshi Wakashi was the only one who knew her true gender, aside from one other person, and he swore to keep it a secret after hearing the whole thing from Chou. He was the greatest friend she could ever ask for.

Her mind was brought back to present when the boy beside her asked her "So? What's wrong?"

Her sadness returned, but this time, she had someone to share her thoughts with. She knew it always worked to tell Hiyoshi her troubles, so she did. "I think.. Shishido-san's avoiding me.." Before the other could say anything, she said "I know it might sound silly, bu-.."

"It's not silly, and he's important for you. I know." He cut her off with a roll of his eyes. Honestly, Chou should have known by now that he was the last person to misunderstand her. He wasn't her best friend for nothing. "Maybe not?" he asked, succeeding in trying to hide the small smile tugging on his lips.

"That, or he forgot about me.. my birthday, too.." she wrapped her arms around her knees. She didn't want her most favorite person to forget her birthday. That way, the special day would be meaningless.

"Why do you say so?"

"Well.. it's been like this all day.." and she began narrating..

_….  
Shishido came late to morning practice and was panting when he slammed the door to the clubroom open._

_"Shishido-san, good morning." Choutarou said with a smile._

_"Ah. Good morning Choutarou." He answered him and smiled back._

_Choutarou waited patiently for the next greeting that didn't come. He mused why. Shishido was supposed to know, right? Today, valentine's day, his birthday?_

_The older boy opened his closet to find a pile of colorful boxes of chocolate sitting there. He rolled his eyes and mumbled "Girls and this day.." he turned to the silver-haired boy and opened his mouth eager to say-.._

_"Shishido." Came Atobe's arrogance-coated voice calling, "Go to the office, I want to have a word with you. The rest of you: go outside and start practicing." And with that, the team dispersed.  
..._

Chou sighed, "And then.."

_...  
Choutarou was walking through the corridor when he spotted his favorite senpai trying to escape from a couple of girls and smiled wider "Shishido-san!"_

_The brunet teen turned to him and gave him a smile. At that gesture, the younger teen rushed to him, "Shishido-san, tod-"_

_"Look at the time! I'll be late for chemistry class! Catch ya later, Choutarou." He then turned to the girls "You can give your chocolates to someone else, thanks." Shishido waved and made a run in a direction that wasn't quite the chemistry lab. Oh, maybe he went to retrieve his books.  
…._

"And the other time in the washroom.." her arms tightened their hold on her knees.

_….  
"Shishido-san." Choutarou called when he saw his doubles partner leaving one of the cubicles._

_"We seem to be meeting a lot today." The older said with a smile as he washed his hands._

_Choutarou wanted to tell him and get on with it, "Shishido-san, I-.."_

_"Oi, Ryou! What's taking you so long?" an irritated Mukahi said from his place near the door. How did he even enter without being noticed?_

_"Oh, come on, Gakuto." He dried his hands quickly. He turned with an unreadable expression on his face, sighed then said "Sorry, Choutarou." And went out._

_Choutarou was left to stare after them before remembering that he had a class to return to.  
…._

Chou sighed, "What if I had done something wrong and he didn't want to talk to me?"

Hiyoshi exhaled slowly to control his cold expression. His friend was very cute, but he liked her when she smiled better.

"I really want to talk to him. Do you think he forgot about my birthday, Wakashi-kun?" she looked at him with an adorable sad pout.

Hiyoshi leaned to her and ruffled her short hair "He'd be an idiot if he did. Don't worry yourself unnecessarily." He said and smiled a little when she did. "Happy birthday, Chou." She smiled wider at him, all her previous concerns easing off.

As for Hiyoshi, he only hoped that his friend would be a bit more patient as she always was, remembering the scene that happened last afternoon practice..

_….  
"Tomorrow," Shishido bowed down to all the regulars present, "don't let me be with Choutarou for more than a minute, please!"_

_After a silent moment, Atobe crossed his arms across his chest and furrowed his eyebrows, "Oi, Shishido, are you listening to yourself? He's your doubles partner, why do you want to be away from him?"_

_"Isn't tomorrow supposed to be his birthday? Valentine's day, right?" Oshitari asked with a raised eyebrow._

_Shishido straightened back up with a frown, "Yes."_

_Atobe walked to him "That doesn't explain why."_

_"It's because I won't be able to keep silent and I'll ruin the surprise later on! Che, just understand the message!" the brunet teen snapped with a slight blush resulting from anger and embarrassment._

_Hiyoshi relaxed. He was tensed when he heard the strange request from his senpai. It seemed like his friend had got himself a good.. crush._

_The others either smiled or smirked and teased him about creating such a drama over a birthday celebration, but eventually respected his concern and gave in to his request.  
…._

* * *

"Shishido-senpai."

Shishido turned to the voice calling him and acknowledged him with a nod. "Hiyoshi." The older teen then tried to look behind the younger one. "Is.. Chou with you?" he almost whispered.

"No.."

The brunet released his held breath.

"Are you sure of what you are doing, senpai?"

"Yeah, kind of, actually." He brushed his hand through his hair and sighed, "I didn't imagine it would be so difficult." He looked up at his 'kouhai', "It's like, I just want to apologize and greet her whenever I see her! And then, I have to remember what my original plan was and back down."

Hiyoshi frowned at him. "She thought you were avoiding her."

Shishido paled at the thought, "Oh no.. what did you tell her?"

"I told her that you are an idiot."

The older boy's eyebrow twitched, "Hiyoshi.. I'm forgiving you this time, because you have been a big help."

"Gekokujou.." he muttered on his way out of the room.

Shishido was left alone in the empty classroom, sighing to himself and making promises to make it up to his most favorite person. He just hoped everything would come out right in the end.

* * *

"Shishido-san, are we going back home together?" The silveret asked once they finished their afternoon tennis practice. He gave off a smile from the outside, but he was hesitant from the inside. At least Shishido looked ready to agree.

Out of the blue, he felt someone pinching his cheek and looked at the hand's owner to find Mukahi looking up at her with a faint pout. "Sorry, Ootori. Shishido is reserved for the evening right now. I need his help in something."

Ootori's smiled dimmed as he tried to compose his expression. Once his cheek was released he smiled apologetically, "I didn't know. It's okay, I'll.. be going home, now."

He didn't bother to change his tennis clothes and grabbed his bag hurriedly leaving the room without looking back. He felt so much sad that he didn't want to stay there more.

_(Switching to 'Chou')_

_..._

On days like these, Chou preferred to take a longer way back home to clear her mind and lift her spirits. It was the road she loved, with as much cheerful sceneries as it could have along the way; the local park where children always played and chased each other, the flower shop and it's kind owner and other places.

However even these proved to be useless in her state now as she couldn't bring a smile to her face.

The silverette walked more and stopped at the flower shop, greeting the old lady. Why did Shishido have to be like that today? 'He'd be an idiot..' she recalled her best friend's words and, finally, felt a small smile tugging at her lips as she moved her gaze around and inhaled the beautiful scent in the place.

Taking a deep breath, she decided that, yes, Shishido-san is an idiot and smiled wider. She'd just have to remind him tomorrow that it was supposed to be her birthday yesterday. Chou tapped her cheeks twice and continued her way with a renewed spirit.

It seems that this road will be forever her favorite.

* * *

"I'm home!" Chou announced her arrival as she took off her shoes by the door.

"My, my, our birthday girl is here finally."

She straightened up to find her grandmother looking at her fondly, and she smiled to her. "Happy birthday, dear."

"Thank you, obaa-san." At least she had a family which liked to greet her twice on her birthday.

Entering the kitchen, she found her mother by the oven, wearing her favorite apron, "Chou-chan, welcome home. How was school?" she questioned after receiving a kiss on her cheek.

"It was fine." Thought it wasn't really fine.

"Can you come down and help me here a bit after you change?" her mother asked with a smile.

"Sure!"

Chou grabbed her bag from the doorway making her way upstairs to her shared room with her sister. Although already in college, the older Ootori sibling still lived with her family, claiming it to be merrier and livelier.

Later that day, a cheerful voice broke the peaceful atmosphere the house had.

"CHOOUUU~!"

The silverette lifted her head from the book she was reading and smiled, immediately leaving it and heading downstairs.

"Here's my butterfly~!" Ootori Haruka opened her arms wide and Chou found herself obliging and hugging her sister tightly giggling along with her. "You grew up fast. I can't believe it's been thirteen years since I had that little baby butterfly in my arms!"

"Nee-chan, you're kind of exaggerating." She said smiling, while her sister pulled back and looked at her fondly.

"Happy birthday once again, baby sister."

Chou felt very happy. "Thank you, nee-chan."

* * *

Dinner and cake went by merrily and brightly with the whole family around and Chou had almost forgotten about her earlier sadness when Haruka asked to have a word with her upstairs in their room.

Once they were inside, the older started digging through her bag searching for something, then straightened up with a folded paper in her hand. Smiling, she waved it teasingly and said "This is my second gift for you." And she winked going out of the room with a yell over the shoulder of "You got permission to go out from our parents, if you want to!"

Chou blinked dumbfounded and stared at the paper as if it was going to talk before actually opening it.

**_"A butterfly is best suited with flowers. Don't you think?_**  
**_Shishido Ryou."_**

She blinked again and reread it.. once, twice, before it clicked in her head and she smiled happily with a pink tint to her cheeks.

Immediately, Chou grabbed her jacket and went downstairs.

"I'm going out!"

* * *

Chou didn't know how long it took her, but she finally reached the flowers shop she loved to stop by, although she didn't know what to do next.

"Hello, how may I help you?" a young woman came out to her and she fidgeted, not knowing what to say.

"Umm.. I.. was told to come here.."

"Oh! You must be the one who the message is for!" she beamed and turned to go inside. "Wait here, ne?"

With a relieved smile, she brushed strands of her hair backwards then linked her hands behind her back and gazed down, only to realize how stupid it was of her to go out without thinking. She didn't bind her chest, and she was wearing a skirt! What if someone who knew Ootori Choutarou saw her?

Quickly, she brought her hands upwards and messed up her hair then brushed it downwards in a different style. At least for sure it looks different now, and she could always pretend that she is his twin sister, right? That always worked in dramas..

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" the woman said and handed her a folded paper, "Here you go! And this one, too!" with the other hand, she gave her a red rose making her blush slightly. Chou thanked her and started walking away.

**_"Remember how you always smile when we walk by the children playing in the park?"_**

* * *

Feeling the cold air seep to her, she tightened the jacket around her body and looked around. The park seemed to be empty, and it was getting dark. Did Shihido really mean for her to come to the park?

Chou stopped walking when she heard a sound. It sounded like.. a violin..? The melody being played was soft. She blinked when she heard an odd note. Probably a mistake..

She smiled and decided to follow the music, since there was no other evidence for her to follow. She could tell she was getting closer to the source of that song. Oh, another mistake.

The silverette finally reached the violinist and stopped with a soft smile admiring the determined but annoyed look on her senpai's face. He played a wrong note again, and she watched as his mouth moved, no doubt, in a silent curse.

The melody came to an end, a messed one, but she clapped happily. Shishido turned to her and was torn between offering a smile or a scowl. "I-I messed.." he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

She only shook her head with a blush. "It was great."

After changing encouraging looks, he finally sighed and smiled. The brunet walked to the bench where he had a couple of things, put down that instrument and picked a box.

"Happy birthday, Chou." He said looking at her, before finding it hard and looking away, "This is super lame."

Catching the wrapped box thrown in her direction, her smile widened. The silverette kneeled down on the ground to unwrap the box carefully, and was surprised to find a necklace with two pendants; a heart and a cross.

Chou kept staring at the item in her hands and didn't notice Shishido coming closer to her until he had his hand on hers.

_'I can't believe I'm doing this.._' he gently took the necklace from her and opened the lock motioning for her to come closer.

She obliged with a dark blush.

Apparently, it was hard to lock the accessory with shaking hands as he felt really hot being in this really close position with the girl he liked. Then again, a man is gotta do what he's gotta do, right?

Finally, he heaved a breath and leaned back to look at her. She help up the two pendants together then closed her palm on them with a teary smile. "Thank you, Shishido-san. Thank you very much."

There was where his plan cracked and he panicked. Chou wasn't supposed to be crying. She was supposed to be happy! He was in a real trouble..

"Ch-Chou.. what's wrong..?"

Chou wiped the tears that fell and smiled brightly again. "I'm happy. I thought you forgot about it. I thought you were avoiding me."

Shishido fought the urge to roll his eyes and huffed. "Mou, Chou, that's just-.."

"Me being lame? I know." She gave a short chuckle and felt her cheeks grow warmer.

The older boy lowered his head slightly. Should he do it? Will she accept or not? What if she doesn't? It would feel bad if she did..

"You know.. that's.. not my only present.." he started uncertainly. He took a look at her confused face and breathed in and out, in and out, until he was sure he can continue that sentence.

"I.." damn, he practiced saying it before, so why couldn't he say it now in front of her? His heart was beating really fast that he didn't know will it be fine after that or not. "I.. l-love.. you." He whispered and when he was sure he got the right words looked up and confidently confessed, "I.. love you, Chou."

Chou's heart was in a frenzy of its own, not knowing what to do with all these extra beats suffocating her. Did he just.. confess his love..? It wasn't a joke, right..? Not a cruel joke..?

"Sh-Shishido-san.. do you.. mean that?"

"I do." He nodded to himself and said the famous sentence he always saw in the shops, "Be my valentine, Chou."

The girl gasped. That was real, and Shishido was asking her to love him back and accept his feelings? It felt like one of her best dreams. Finally, snapping out of her thoughts when she saw the troubled look on his face she smiled and looked at him from under her bangs.

"Y-yes.."

That lone world lifted a whole mountain of troubles from his mind.

Slowly, they leaned closer until they exchanged their first kiss.

Needless to say, it was the best birthday ever.

..

Although Shishido kept telling her that it was lame, she liked it, and held his hand, making him smile.

* * *

**A/N:** It does sound lame, but I hope you liked it.

Review, please?


End file.
